BRISBANE Airport's new runway is on track to open in 2020 after the $400 million Airfield Works contract was awarded to Skyway, a joint venture between BMD Constructions Pty Ltd and CPB Contractors Pty Ltd, a member of the CIMIC Group.

The proposed runway, which is 3,300-metres long and 60-metres wide, is currently the largest aviation infrastructure project to be under construction in Australia. It includes over 12 kilometres of taxiways and airfield infrastructure such as navigational aids, lighting, operational roads, drainage, security fencing, control systems and approximately 300 hectares of airfield landscaping.

Above: Preparation, dredging and reclamation works have already been completed in anticipation of the new runway / Brisbane Airport Corporation.

Brisbane Airport Corporation's investment in this final stage of works, including the Airfield Works contract, is worth more than $500 million and will take close to three years to complete.

"Given the long history of this project which had its earliest planning stages in the 1970s, it is a significant milestone to announce today the successful contractor for the largest, final and most expensive package of works to bring Brisbane's new runway to life," Brisbane Airport Corporation CEO and Managing Director, Julieanne Alroe, said in a statement last week.

"That Skyway joint venture partners have a long and storied history with Brisbane Airport, and such strong local pedigree, is particularly pleasing," Ms Alroe said.

"The new runway was the most important piece of aviation infrastructure being built in Queensland and the biggest undertaken by BAC since the airport was privatised in 1997.

"It is a $1.2 to $1.3 billion privately funded investment that, when operational in 2020, will provide unlimited opportunities for the growth of our city, state and, ultimately, our nation.

"To put our investment in this project into context, BAC bought the entire airport for $1.38 billion, almost 20 years ago to the day.

"Over the past two decades, BAC has privately invested more than $3.4 billion in upgrading and expanding this critical piece of public infrastructure, with a great deal of this development geared to increasing capacity and improving the travelling experience for airline passengers.

"Importantly, through privatisation, not one cent of the billions of dollars invested in this critical infrastructure has come from the government purse," Ms Alroe said.